Amazonas!

  Leticia, Colombia
Monday, April 27, 2009

It had been a long held dream to come to the Amazon and today it came true!  I flew from Bogota to Leticia...there are no roads there.  As the plane descended I had my first glimpses of this amazing river!  Brought tears to my eyes! At this time of year the river is at its highest and this year it is nearing records for flooding...and I could see from the plane the houses on stilts and water water everywhere!  









I was met at the airport by a lady who brought me to the Hotel Anaconda in downtown Leticia. The town is not large with 35,000 inhabitants and the first thing I noticed is how slowly everyone drives!  Relaxed, mellow...nice.  There isn't much to do here and the town is mainly a jumping off point for river trips to Brazil and Peru.  There are a few local river trips as well, but I didn't have time for that as I had plans to be in Iquitos for a boat trip on May 2.  I walked around the town, soaking up the ambiance and the hot humid jungle climate - quite a change from chilly Bogota!  The river is where the action is.  It doesn't look that wide in these pictures taken from town but what you see on the other side is an island, not the far bank.  


While walking around I found a place where I could buy my ticket for the Rapidito to Iquitos.  It costs $65 including breakfast and lunch and takes about 11 hours.  Or you can take the slow boat which can take several days.   The only drawback to the Rapidito?  It leaves at 4 a.m.!!!