SLOW BOAT DOWN THE AMAZON
Friday June 8, 2007
Friday June 8, 2007
I caught the slow ferry down the Amazon from Iquitos, Peru to get to my remote destinaion 150 miles from the nearest city or town of any size. The trip will last about 18 hrs and my sleeping quarters will be a hammock along 250 other people. There will also be bananas, cattle and various other goods which will be transported back to Iquitos on the return trip. Many villagers also pay the fee to return to their villages after going to the city for supplies. The Amazon was so enormous it was almsot unbelievable. You can not see the banks of both sides at some times. It looks like an ocean.
Saturday June 9, 2007
4 YEARS LATER
SLOW BOAT UP THE AMAZON
2/19/11 thru 2/25/11
I found a boat leaving Manaus, Brazil sooner than expected. Paid the $180 US for the 6.5 day journey up the Amazon which does not include your hammock (bought for $24) but does include all meals. My experience 4 years ago going downriver from Iquitos on the Amazon was less than a favorable experience. This trip, however, was much better than expected. The boat was larger and newer and the meals were really good for this type of cruise. HOWEVER, every lunch and dinner were exactly the same except for the type of meat served. The meal consisted of rice, beans, spaghetti noodles, and meat or chicken. Still loved it until about the 4th day then I was craving almost anything else. There were approximately 200 passengers on board and every hammock was touching someone elses. People started lining up for each meal approximately 1 hour before they began serving because the dining room only served about 30 people at a time. We got a much closer view of the banks of the Amazon than those who go down river because the boat stays close to the bank to keep away from the current. Most of the time we were within 100 to 150 feet from the banks. Not much to do during the day but watch the scenery, eat and sleep in your hammock. At night the top deck turned into a Salsa dance club with many Skol beers being consumed. I made some really great friends on the trip, Bobby (Canada), Hanas (Italy), Elise (Colombia) and Sonny (Australia). The sunsets were spectacular with the sun setting sometimes on the Amazon River and others with thunderstorms putting on a lightning spectacular. The first 4 days went by fast as the boat never docked at any other ports but starting on the 5 th day we stopped several times a day which was so boring. You can only watch people unload things for so long. The 6th day we stopped in port for 11 hours which was an eternity. Back to the hammock for more sleep was usually the remedy for boredom. So happy to land in Tabatinga, Brazil and then walk the 2 km to Leticia, Colombia. Finally on solid ground again. So happy I did this trip as I made great friends and added a more positive perspective to river travel on the Amazon than my previous trip. Thought that I saw a pink river dolphin at the mouth of a river that empties into the Amazon but it was a Manatee, how cool.
Saturday June 9, 2007
We took a canoe and went down a tributary of the Amazon River to our camp site. We passed several houses that belonged to friends of my guide. While traveling down the river my guide filled up my empty coke bottle with river water and drank it. He showed me the water and it was perfectly clear. Ne had filled up the bottle about 1.5 feet below the top level of silt. The guide said the Amazon was the cleanest river in the world and was just dark due to the soil on the top which has not settled yet. We passed balsa wood that had been cut and tied together to float down the river at a later date. Hard to believe that as remote as were were there was still some logging going on.
While in the Amazon, we walked through the forest while the guide showed me the medicinal plants and what there uses were. We would also fish, mostly for pirrahana, in the mornings to have fresh food to eat. We only took two live chickens and vegetables with us to the camp for the week. At night we went looking for Caiman {alligators}. My guide, Raphael, caught a young Caiman one night and they also shot a river rat that they jumped out of the boat and chased along the bank one night.
4 YEARS LATER
SLOW BOAT UP THE AMAZON
2/19/11 thru 2/25/11
I found a boat leaving Manaus, Brazil sooner than expected. Paid the $180 US for the 6.5 day journey up the Amazon which does not include your hammock (bought for $24) but does include all meals. My experience 4 years ago going downriver from Iquitos on the Amazon was less than a favorable experience. This trip, however, was much better than expected. The boat was larger and newer and the meals were really good for this type of cruise. HOWEVER, every lunch and dinner were exactly the same except for the type of meat served. The meal consisted of rice, beans, spaghetti noodles, and meat or chicken. Still loved it until about the 4th day then I was craving almost anything else. There were approximately 200 passengers on board and every hammock was touching someone elses. People started lining up for each meal approximately 1 hour before they began serving because the dining room only served about 30 people at a time. We got a much closer view of the banks of the Amazon than those who go down river because the boat stays close to the bank to keep away from the current. Most of the time we were within 100 to 150 feet from the banks. Not much to do during the day but watch the scenery, eat and sleep in your hammock. At night the top deck turned into a Salsa dance club with many Skol beers being consumed. I made some really great friends on the trip, Bobby (Canada), Hanas (Italy), Elise (Colombia) and Sonny (Australia). The sunsets were spectacular with the sun setting sometimes on the Amazon River and others with thunderstorms putting on a lightning spectacular. The first 4 days went by fast as the boat never docked at any other ports but starting on the 5 th day we stopped several times a day which was so boring. You can only watch people unload things for so long. The 6th day we stopped in port for 11 hours which was an eternity. Back to the hammock for more sleep was usually the remedy for boredom. So happy to land in Tabatinga, Brazil and then walk the 2 km to Leticia, Colombia. Finally on solid ground again. So happy I did this trip as I made great friends and added a more positive perspective to river travel on the Amazon than my previous trip. Thought that I saw a pink river dolphin at the mouth of a river that empties into the Amazon but it was a Manatee, how cool.
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