The Mighty Amazon

Our flight from Cartagena to Bogota was very short.  The stewards only just had enough time to deliver each passenger a water before it was time to land in the capital of Colombia.   The city seemed to sprawl out for miles as we circled above on our approach.   Once landed we then had a short wait for our connecting flight to Leticia, the southern most city in Colombia, bordering Brazil and Peru, and our entrance point to the Amazon. 

I was fortunate enough to be able to have a window seat as we flew over the rainforest with views of a meandering river below us and the borderless lines that blur where Colombia finishes and Brazil starts.   I was so excited I thought I would burst as I tried to drink in the view that lay beneath us.

We were met at the airport by Sergio, the owner of Amazonas Jungle Tours who we had booked a three day adventure with.  After paying a small visitor tax, we were welcomed to Leticia and guided to two tuk-tuks which sped us into town along rutted roads.   Once again we were amazed at the driving abilities of road users as tuk-tuks and scooters jostled for position and unmarked crossroads seemed to follow a “who-dares-wins” road code.   We splashed through puddles in the potholes, bounced over ruts and swerved to overtake those travelling too slow, sometimes choosing to use the wrong side of a dual carriageway, which on-coming vehicles seemed to take in their stride.  I was mesmorised and felt slightly ill when I locked eyes with a young baby – less than 6 months old – being held by its young mother as they were both sped down the road on a scooter while our driver tailgated them at speed.   

Once checked into our cheap but adequate accommodation, we took a tuk-tuk into town and had an early dinner where Steve – always food adventurous – tried the Mojojoy platter – a local speciality of tree grub, like Huhu grubs in NZ.   I was disgusted but proud of him!!!  After our dinner we walked to the main square and climbed the church spire to watch flocks of parrots coming in to roost at dusk.   The sky was dark with thousands of parrots as they circled in flocks overhead and landed in the trees surrounding the square, squawking as they approached, drowning out any other noise around as we had to shout to be able to talk to each other!

In the morning we were collected early and taken to catch a small boat to the main port which was across a river that we would normally have walked across but the footbridge had been damaged and repairs were not yet complete.   The river was very busy with long wooden pirogues jostling for position as we pushed and squeezed our way out of the estuary and finally into the fast flowing stream of the mighty Amazon where we were loaded onto a much bigger and faster boat for the journey upstream. 

We were asked to put on lifejackets as the boat was filled with a mix of tourists and locals, the young captain masterly negotiating debris in the river as we made a highspeed journey upstream.   We made short stops at small villages and settlements along the river, depositing passengers on muddy banks and leaving them to scramble up hills as we continued our journey 40 miles up the river.   Eventually we reached Puerto Narino where we were met by Brehitner who would be our guide for the next few days.   Brehitner was in his late-twenties (I think) from Peru, spoke perfect English as he had trained as an English teacher, was hugely knowledgeable about nature and local tribes/traditions and was altogether a lovely man!  We would get to know each other quite well over the following few days.

Puerto Narino is a surprisingly big town populated by about 85% native tribes, with no cars or vehicles and clean, well kept pathways.   A waterfront stadium seemed to be in continuous use with football or volleyball games, well supported by enthusiastic spectators.   A daily market lined the footpath with fresh fish, fruit and some vegetables for sale as well as a very small amount of jewellery and local art.  

Our tour started straight away with a boat trip to see the pink dolphins that feed in the fast flowing waters in front of the town.  It didn’t take long before a flash of pink alerted us that we were in the company of a large river dolphin that are unique to the Amazon.  Unlike the bottlenose or common dolphins, pink dolphins do not often interact with humans, preferring to keep their distance.  They also do not jump out the water but slowly porpoise, showing their pink sides as they move through the water feeding on shrimps and crustacean that give the dolphin its pink colour.   They are large mammals – much larger than other dolphins we have seen – and are treasured but also occasionally hunted by the tribes.  

After following pink dolphins for a while Brehitner took us to a sandy island in the Amazon, across from Puerto Narino, and in doing so, crossed the invisible border into Peru for the first time.   Much to our amazement, we spotted a flash of pink in the shallow waters and we all hurried towards the disturbance where were treated to watching a group of pink dolphins mating, with lots of splashing, thrashing and pink flashes before they parted ways!  

Later that afternoon, wearing our gumboots we had been lent in Leticia, Brehitner guided us on a walk through the forest.  As we approached a clearance in the trees, we heard how two years ago there had been thick forest, but during Covid the family that owns the land had to clear it to grow food as they had no other means of feeding their family.  I get upset at seeing the destruction of part of the forest but struggle with the loss v’s understanding a mans need to feed his family.   We saw rubbish strewn along the banks and in the side rivers of the Amazon which are all products of the western world putting our values and lifestyles on every culture we come in contact with.   The Catholic Church has a huge dominance in even the smallest communities and it was strange to hear western classical music being played in the jungle to a group of school children, some dressed in traditional costume, as proud nuns looked over the proceedings.   Who are we to tell these people they cannot clear some of the jungle to provide food for their families?  However, the affect of this clearing is evident in the large mudslides that mark the edge of the fast-flowing river.  Big ancient trees have been swept away into the brown waters and Brehitner told us that they believe a large island very close to the town will soon be swept away as the wet season approaches. 

Our visit to the Amazon was at the end of the dry season, in the wet months the river swells and floods the villages turning the tall pole houses into homes constructed above fast flowing water and canoes as the only means to leave the house.  Gardens are flooded and the mangroves come alive again with fish, Cayman and pink dolphins that live in the shallow water, giving birth amongst the roots of the flooded trees.   Houses and trees are stained with muddy lines showing the height of the river when in flood, creating a very different environment to the one we experienced. 

We continued our walk through the forest with Brehitner showing us different plants used for medicines or hunting purposes – the bark of a tree to ward off, or cure malaria, the thorn from a tree to make darts, poisoned with a specific tree frog, a rubber tree where the sap was extracted and the scars could still be seen on the bark.   It was fascinating to see these trees and hear from someone who knew, and lived in, the forest.  

We arrived at a building on tall poles and walked through the grounds to two lakes where the owners had developed a fish farm.  In a tree near the house lived a friendly Toucan, free to fly away but comfortable around humans allowing us to get very close to it as it sat in the lower branches of a large tree.   They are such beautiful birds with the most stunning colours on their beaks and feathers.   I was mesmorised by it!   In the lake lived huge Pirarucu fish one of them was enormous and looked like a serpent as it came to the surface to feed.   They can grow to 3m in length and this one didn’t seem far off it as it slowly came towards us, grabbed the food being offered and quickly beat its retreat!  

We waited until dark, relaxing in hammocks, chatting away until night fell.  We then returned to the lake with Brehitner pointing out small colourful frogs along the way.  We were on the hunt for Caymans that live in the reeds around the lake and as Brehitner shone his bright torch along the bank, several red eyes were reflected back at us!   I was under the misguided impression Cayman were small alligators – not true!   They can be very big alligators and I wasn’t too keen to get much closer than just seeing their eyes as we were walking along the waters edge!

We walked back to the village through the forest with Brehitner uncovering interesting critters along the way – plenty of large tarantulas, tiny colourful frogs, lizards, beetles, stick insects and moths.  If we’d been on our own we would’ve missed them, but Brehitner knew exactly what to look for and where to look!

The next day we headed back across the river to Peru and a visit to a small indigenous village where a local guide walked us through the forest, pointing out special trees as we went while Brehitner translated.  Sloths, curled up in the top of the trees, resembled footballs as they slept the day away – I’m not sure if/when they are ever active!    In the wet season the village and forest are flooded and once again there is evidence of large mud slides that have taken a considerable amount of land from the small community where we were treated to a traditional lunch, cooked over open fires in a large communal kitchen.  

That evening Brehitner steered us up the river in a small tin dinghy, gave us a fishing rod made from a stripped stick, with a short piece of fishing line attached to it and small hook.  It was beautifully old fashioned and child-like as he masterly cut-up some bait and told us to cast the line as far from the boat as possible, first swishing the tip of the rod in the water.   This was not just any fishing trip, this was us fishing for piranha!  

Nic had the first catch, managing to snare a fish Brehitner identified as a sardine which he then cut up and used as more bait.   We then all managed to catch catfish of varying sizes which we immediately threw back.   After moving to another part of the river in muddy water and close to the shallows, I successfully landed the first Piranha – a small fish with red sides and very sharp teeth.   We had so much fun in the still evening with the sun setting behind us as our catch numbers increased, laughing as Steve caught a large Piranha that I was so afraid was going to land on me that I moved backwards and fell into the bottom of the boat completely beached and unable to do anything but laugh as the caught fish continued to dangle above my head!

We returned to the village for our last night, with four of the nine or so Piranha we had caught, throwing the rest back to fight another day!   Brehitner prepared the fish and masterly cooked them for us, showing us the big teeth that were hidden behind their lips.   The fish tasted surprisingly delicate and was a lovely way to end a great day.

On our last day we walked through the area’s secondary school and into the grounds of a monkey rescue centre.   All the monkeys are uncaged and free to play, live and roam the forest around them but food is easy to find at the centre, so they tend to hang around.   There were three types of monkey with the cheeky Capuchin steeling the show with their fearless antics, climbing on our shoulders and arms as we fed them banana.   The other monkeys were a lot more fearsome but it was lovely to watch them in the trees, nimbly jumping from branch to branch and calling to each other as they climbed.  

After a final walk to the market and visit to a small museum, it was time to leave Puerto Narino and head back to the metropolis of Leticia!  As we made our way downstream at high speed, dodging large trees and other organic matter floating down the Amazon, we reflected on the last few days.  It had been a magical experience to be in the Amazon, to witness life in an extremely isolated community and to have had the privilege to see so much nature.  It had been a dream of mine to one day get to the Amazon, but I was unsure how/if I could ever realise it.   How lucky am I to now have memories not dreams…?