Exploring the Amazon River: An Amazing Emotional Adventure!

Intro

🌿 Embark on an adventure into the heart of the Amazon, one of the 7 world’s most breathtaking natural wonders! Starting from the bustling CTG Cartagena International Airport, my journey unfolds with excitement as I wait for my flight to Bogota en route to Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia. 🇨🇴

Peering out the window of the LATAM flight, I catch glimpses of Cartagena’s coastal beauty before landing in Bogota and then Leticia. Passing the “Welcome to the Amazonas” sign at Leticia International Airport, the anticipation mounts.

Settling into Hotel Anaconda, I soak in the lush surroundings and dive into the adventure.

From tranquil and sometimes scary boat rides along the Amazon River to encounters with vibrant wildlife in San Antonio, Peru, every moment is a marvel. 🦜 Guided by the lush greenery and the call of exotic birds, the journey through Puerto Nariño is a symphony of rainbows, sunsets, and piranha fishing.

🌈🎣 With each step, the Amazon reveals its magic, leaving me spellbound by its grandeur.

From Cartagena, to Bogota, to Leticia

After my New Years celebration in Cartagena, Colombia, I was ready for a new adventure.

I was going to spend 10 days in Colombia, and wanted to include a quick trip somewhere besides Cartagena. The options were:

1. San Andres
2. The Cocora Valley (from Encanto)
3. The Amazon River (one of the 7 Nature Wonders of the World)

I could not decide, so I used an online randomizer and this is how The Amazon was picked. Incredible.

And thankfully, since I am in the process of collecting the 7 Nature Wonders of the World. So far I had been in:

1. Hạ Long Bay
2. Iguazú / Iguaçu Falls
3. Komodo Island 
4. Table Mountain

Incredibly, I had not been to the one in my own country: The Amazon River, and the other remaining 2 are going to hopefully be visited later this year.

But now it is time to board my flights, from Cartagena to Bogota to Leticia, Amazonas.

The Zona Norte de Cartagena is growing and bringing a lot of development and projects into the city, the biggest one being Serena del Mar.

Getting to Leticia

After a long stopover in the cold Bogota, where I could not leave the airport, but got the chance to eat and explore it, I finally made it to the most southern point of Colombia: the city of Leticia.

Once I landed, I was greeted by the tour company I had hire for this trip: Amazonas Jungle Tours which you can check here. This first night in Leticia was not included in the tour, but they took me to their office for final payments, advice on clothing and to provide the rain boots.

I was brought to my hotel by them, and there was a big insect already waiting for me lol. I called the staff to remove it from my bed, and I went to sleep.

Breakfast was offered but I was going to get picked up at around 7:00 AM. They were nice enough to give me some food before the breakfast buffet started.

From Leticia to Puerto Nariño

But most of this tour would not be happening in Leticia. Upstream of the Amazon River there is a more secluded area, great for these nature tours closer to a town called Puerto Nariño. Transportation was provided to go there.

And there it was, I was finally seeing the Amazon River.

The boat ride was kind of calm. We were going upstream, and the waves were high in some instances.

After a bit more than an hour we arrived to Puerto Nariño.

On the way to Peru

We got a few minutes to relax in the provided hotel rooms, and we were called right away for the first part of the actual tour: Crossing the Amazon River into Peru.

Since this was a tour visit, I did not really read into all the details. I trusted in them, and I knew I would be safe. But I was in this little boat with a family of 3, and 2 of them were screaming for their lives. The current was extremely high, and I thought many times that we would capsize. Water was coming into the little boat.

The tour guide/captain, with all his experience took many changes approaches to the current, and we made it into the Peruvian riviera. It was stressful.

On the way to San Antonio de Cacao, Peru

Once in the island, this family was so upset, they requested a different mode of transportation on the way back. A bigger boat.

But we started the walk to the community, and the fauna was surprising us in every corner. This was not my first time in Peru, I had been to a few places in this country back in 2019. Passport is not required to cross between countries in this border area between Colombia, Brazil and Peru.

The path was muddy, but we were in the jungle and thankfully we had these rain boots on.

We stopped a few times to listen to all the explanations from the tour guides.

And just after some time, we arrived to the indigenous community of San Antonio de Cacao in Peru. This little town is located in an island in the Amazon River, and this is its second location, since the first one was destroyed during a flood a few years ago.

They are still trying to re-built their community, and opened their doors to tourists from all over the world, to get some income.

Into the jungle and the “Avatar” tree

We rested for a few minutes in this community, getting to know them, and seeing how they live their daily lives.

But after some time, we had to go, and the tour guide took us into the jungle. On the way there, we saw a lot of flora and fauna, like for example, these nests of Oropendola birds. They would be coming in and out of them.

Multiple times we saw the leaf cutter ants. And A LOT, A LOT, of mosquitos. I had never seen so many mosquitos in my life. They literally swarm you.

Some recommendations for these hikes into the Amazon jungle include:

• Bring mosquito repellant, a lot of it.
• Wear long sleeves, preferably white or light colors. Lighter colors are less interesting to mosquitos than darker shades like navy and black, red or orange.
• Bring rain, mud, boots.
• Wear a hat.
• Bring sunblock.
• Wear long pants, also with lighter colors, and sporty.
• If walking gets difficult, bring a walking or hiking stick.
• A lot of water. Added electrolytes work better.

The reward for this hike into the jungle was to see the “Avatar” tree, although it has a name that I forgot, but this is a huge ceiba, that has a lot of meaning for this community.

The roots of this tree were immense, and would slither all around this area. Surprisingly it was just there, in the middle of nowhere. Fantastic stories were told by the tour guide, explaining the significance of this magical tree to the community, soon called the “Avatar” tree for the foreign tourists.

The return to the community

After hours of walking in the jungle, with the heat, the mosquitos, and everything, I had drunk all of my water. I was soooo waiting to get back into the town, and buy some water from the locals.

Once there, I got some Inca kola, which is like the most iconic soda of Peru.

Next up, it was time for lunch. I devoured this fresh fish from the river, with patacones (fried plantain), lentils and rice. They offered some agua de panela, which is like the juice of a cane, but even though I sipped it a bit, I gently declined. When travelling to these destinations, it is better to keep your stomach happy lol.

The return to Puerto Nariño

Thanks to the demands of the screaming family on the way here, we got a bigger boat! And the return into Puerto Nariño, Colombia, crossing the Amazon River was way easier.

I could not believe this was the boat that had taken us into the San Antonio island, just look at how tiny it was lol. Of course, the river was more calm now than when we came, but still.

Once we arrived to Puerto Nariño, we had some time to go back to the hotel, and change if we wanted. There was more to do for the day. A rainbow was out, but this time it did not mean the rain was over…

…It mean the rain was coming on our way! And Amazon River rain is no joke. The water could flood the river bank in no time. But the next tour was about to start, and now we had to wait.

Journey into the Tarapoto Lakes

It finally stopped raining and now it was time to get into the little boat (again) to go to the Tarapoto Lakes.

It was almost evening time but we had to do this TODAY!

The rainbow was still on out back and hopefully the rain was fully over for the day… was it tho?

A little river would guide us towards these drowned forest and then into the immense lakes.

I loved all the views. I felt overwhelmed in a great way, with all the beauty I was being presented.

The Grey and Pink Dolphins

Not too long after, we started noticing something on the lake, they were gray and pink river dolphins. I almost cried.

Growing up in Colombia, my favorite book, and that I read many times when I was in primary school was “Al Rescate de Omacha” by Sarita Kendall. Omacha is the name for dolphins in the local language, and it is just crazy to me that I was seeing these animals for the first time.

They did a show for us, but we continued going deeper into the lakes. I was so happy the Randomizer picked the Amazon.

A beautiful sunset

We got to the entrance of the Tarapoto Lakes, where they keep control of the visitors. After writing down our names, we continue to the very center of the lakes.

The sunset was just starting but the majesty of the Amazon was leaving us with no words.

Another tour in front of us was offering other water sports, and some were swimming too. The entire lake felt so empty regardless, just a few people in this vast area.

Both the night and the rain were silently approaching, and we were in the middle of nowhere, with just a small boat to get back.

Rain and Piranhas

The rain won the battle, and we were thankfully just on time back into the Park Guard booth.

While in there, our tour guide instructed us how to fish piranhas. It was amused on how easy they are caught, since they go like crazy as soon as we put the bait in the water. We released them, and waited a few minutes until the storm was almost over.

It was getting dark already, so we silently went back to Puerto Nariño on the little boat.

After a few minutes we were back and we were free to rest. I took a shower and later explored the town to eat some dinner. It was still a few days after the New Year, and some holiday decorations were still up. I did not feel like going to the night tour in the jungle. The rain and heat were going to make it really difficult, plus it was late already. I decided to stay at the hotel and rest after this long day.

But there is more of this story, do not miss my next entry.