Jungle tour
Trip Start
Jun 25, 2007
1
14
19
Trip End
Aug 23, 2007
Tabatinga, Brazil
Saturday, August 18, 2007
The first day was I went to see enormous lily pads. They are so large that they can hold a small human (or infant, or even 27 cups of decaffeinated coffee, it all depends on who is your guide). The lily pad place also had a nice variety of macaws and a toucan. This part of the tour was really touristy. From there we took a canoe up the amazon for about two hours and reached a small indigenous community (previously mentioned) called Gamboa.
The community was very interesting. The people there spoke a native language as their first language and some spoke Spanish. Their community had absolutely no infrastructure in relation to waste treatment or electricity. All of the houses were built a meter or two off the ground because during the rainy season the whole area floods. The community relied on subsistence farming of manioc, watermelon and goiaba as well fishing from the Amazon.
After situating myself I went on a canoe ride with a local. The scenery was amazing. We paddled up a small creek that lead us deep into the forest. The entire time we were surrounded by sounds. I saw a ton of birds and beautiful butterflies. Sadly, along with the butterflies came mosquitoes and these really nasty flies that bite like hell. By the end of the trip I looked like a lobster (thanks sun) and felt like meatloaf (thanks bugs).
During the night my host family took me on the same creek to "catch alligators". Something about the whole concept bothered me. By the way the canoe that we used to go "gator catching" was really really small. It was also very unstable. The jungle during the night is both enchanting (Mainly due to sounds, the quantity of lighting bugs, and the lack of light pollution) and horrifying ( due to really disturbing sounds and the quantity of mosquitoes). I was absolutely covered by mosquitoes. There is not an inch of my body that is not bitten up.
The second day was spent walking around in the jungle. Normally this would be an amazing experience, but I didnīt get much sleep the night before (thanks bats). I was soaked my shirt in sweat and was still feeling like a lobster that had been turned into meat loaf. After seeing a tarantula, some monkeys, a few birds and a gigantic beetle we headed back. Overall it was great experience, but I just wish I wasnīt in such a pissy mood.
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Tabatinga is a very funny place. Everyone here uses Pesos (Colombian money), Soles (Peruvian money) and Reais. The most common method of transportation here is the motorcycle. I have seen up to 5 people on a motorcycle, but that was rare. 4 people on a motorcycle is far too common to be safe. The funny thing is all of the motorcycles here have motors the size of weed wackers. I have no clue how they do it.
Leticia is much nicer and safer. Colombia also seems to have much stricter law enforcement than Brazil. Everyone quickly puts their helmet on as they enter leticia. Colombians and Peruvians always go to Brazil when they want to party. The beer is cheaper and comes in larger containers in Brazil.
While I was here The power went out quite a few times. This place is a little more charming than Manaus. If you plan on traveling through here I would spend more time here than in Manaus or Iquitos.
Also, here is where you have to go to the Policia Federal to get your exit stamp. I was totally screwed by this. My visa expired a month ago and so I have pay a fine for that. I also lost this small immigration form they give you at the beginning of your trip so they fined me for that. The total for the fines comes close to 360 reais (180 dollars). If your visa is about to expire renew it!!!!!! Also donīt loose the immigration form.
