Amazon Adventures

Hi everyone,

After our three days in Cartagena des Indias we flew to Leticia (via Bogata) in the far south of Colombia.  Leticia is on the Amazon River with Brazil close by and Peru on the other side of the river.  We did a three day / two night tour with Amazonas Jungle Tours.

In the Amazon Jungle

We flew south on Friday.  The flights were about 1 hour to Bogata and 1 1/2 hours to Leticia, both on Airbus A320s.  The second image below is from the Spyglass iOS app.

On the way to board our A320

Landing in Leticia

We were met by the Jungle Tours boss Sergio and escorted to our transport - tuk-tuks!  With Steve and Helen of sv Cerulean we had a tuk-tuk race where-ever we went in Leticia.

At the Jungle Tours office we discovered why their web site is so fast despite internet being generally so slow in Leticia - they have Starlink.  Perfect application of the technology given Leticia is a real frontier town with limited infrastructure.  Its population is 45000.

Our tour ranged from Leticia to Puerto Narino

Kitted out with wellington boots and briefed on our tour we were tuk-tuked to our AirBNB accommodation.  The ride was bumpy as the roads in Leticia are pot-holed and/or flooded.  The accommodation was cheap and basic.

From there we tuk-tuked into town for a meal at a restaurant Jungle Tours recommended.  Very good.  After eating we explored the town.  As dusk approached we walked to the park where thousands of parrots roost each evening.

Leticia street art

Parrots coming home to roost in the town park

On Saturday we were tuk-tuked to the river and did a short trip on a small boat to get to the main port.  The bridge which normally allows one to walk there was damaged.

The main high-speed ferry carries about 80 passengers and cruises at about 24 knots.  Big outboards.  Going up-river it was doing 20 knots over the ground.  Spectacular trip.

Spyglass view

On the Amazon

At Puerto Narino we were met by our Jungle Tours guide Breitner.  He escorted us to our hotel.  Puerto Narino is very clean and tidy.  No motorised vehicles at all.  Back in his day Pablo Escobar had an airstrip nearby and funded a lot of development in the town while running for President.  Those days are gone but the town is still very well kept indeed.  The population is mainly indigenous and the place has a really good vibe.

Walking to the hotel

After checking-in and dumping our bags Breitner took us back to the river where we boarded an outboard-powered aluminium canoe-style runabout.  Out off the town we watched pink and grey dolphins fishing in the channel just upstream of the town jetty.  Then we headed across the river to the Peruvian side where we went ashore.  Nic and I went for a swim in the Amazon!

In Peru

Waving not drowning

It was interesting to see most local craft are powered by long-tails, as used in SE Asia.

After lunch back in Puerto Narino we headed out of town on foot for a jungle tour.  Breitner knew his stuff, describing the medicinal use of trees and plants.  We walked to an indigenous farm where enormous Pirarucu fish live.  They can reach 3m in length and 200kg.

Toucan!

Lake used as a fish farm

Pirarucu

We stayed at the farm for an hour or so as the sun went down, enjoying a rest in hammocks.  After nightfall we headed back off through the jungle to town.  Along the way we saw many insects, frogs, lizards and several tarantulas.

Saturday was a busy day!  After a quick dinner we crashed at the hotel.

Sunday started with a river crossing to an island on the Peru side.  We visited an indigenous village and walked through the nearby jungle.

Even remote indigenous villages have their art

Leaf-carrying ants everywhere

Sloth

Big Tree!

We had lunch in the indigenous village and walked back to the river through a different jungle path.  Some of the trees in the jungle are enormous.  The height of wet-season flooding was clear on all the trees.  Much of the island is inundated for several months.  The houses are all-wood and have two or three stories.

We returned to Puerto Narino mid-afternoon and after a break reconvened for a boat trip to a lake on the Colombian side of the river.  The water changes from brown to black as one leaves the main stream and enters the lake.  Our task was to catch piranha!

Ready to fish!

The fishing was good fun.  Nicki had never caught a fish before and her first catch was a sardine which proved good bait for the piranha.  Between the four of us we caught 8 piranha plus numerous catfish.  At sunset we headed back to Puerto Narino for dinner.  After dinner Breitner cooked up some of our piranhas for us at the Jungle Tours office.  They were very nice!

Ready to cook

Angry Fish

On Monday we walked upstream to visit a resort where several types of monkey can be seen.  Along the way we spotted some big iguanas.

Iguana

Boca Leche monkeys

Squirrel monkey

The resort also features a couple of large parrots...

Amazing track-side plants

On Monday afternoon it was time to return to Leticia.  We went on a slightly smaller fast ferry.  On arrival we were again met by Jungle Tours and tuk-tuked to their office and onward to our hotel.  We stayed in a different AirBNB hotel nearer to the town centre.

On Tuesday we flew back to Santa Marta, again on Airbus A320s.  We had booked to fly via Bogota and Medellin but our flight from Bogota was delayed and we scored a direct flight home.

Curved approach into Bogota due to nearby hills
(the runway's above the wing)

Our tour in the Amazon was fantastic.  Can't recommend Amazonas Jungle Tours highly enough!

We expect to be in Santa Marta for a few days as we wait for a good weather window for Panama.

Trust all's well where you are!