Never ending summer...and (freaking winter too) of 2009!!!
In the river of Amazon...
I had to get ready for the once in the life time opportunity trip down the longest river in the world that runs through the width of the whole South America – The Amazon River. My plan was to take a 3 day Peruvian boat from Iquitos to the border with Brazil, and then continue with the 4 day Brazilian boat from the border all the way to Manaus. On the boat, everybody sleeps in the hammocks, and there is no storage room for any luggage. I had been reading and talking to people who had shared some horror stories… uneatable food, poor hygienic conditions and mainly lots of petty crime, stealing of backpacks and even shoes under the hammocks at night. And of course I also heard that it was an unbelievable experience, all you have to do is be careful and watch your staff while you are going to the bathroom… Initially, I was hanging around Iquitos hoping to meet some other travelers to share the duties of watching out for each other… Unfortunately, people I was meeting were all traveling in other directions from me, so, finally I gave up and gathered some courage to do it on my own, bought the hammock and went to the port!!!
The Iquitos port was the most dangerous part of this trip. In order to avoid thieves I was told not to arrive after dark, but arrive well in advance to avoid problems and bag snatchers. I was feeling very anxious all day, and came quite early, 5 hours before the boat departure. On the boat I was met by various men who were laughing at me and pointing fingers, and were quite excited to have a “paranoid” foreigner on board. At the same time they were very accommodating and friendly and helped me put my hammock up. One man even offered to keep my backpack locked up in his cabin. Not trusting that the men was part of the crew I did not let go at that time of my backpack, thinking it was a scam and he would sell my backpack to his buddies… :) After a while I got more relaxed, realized that he was actually part of a crew and let go of my backpack to be locked up in his cabin. Since I was already on the boat, I could not leave… had to guard my hammock spot …
After many hours, finally some people started to board and it became more exciting. People were hanging their hammocks around me and the next thing I know the hammocks were so tight together that people were touching each other. The boat got really full, there were hammocks in the isles that lead to the bathroom too, so that to get to the bathroom you had to crouch and swing the hammocks away with people in them… The boat was very small, with no space to walk.. So I had spend all 3 days pretty much horizontal in my hammock, sleep, read, look around… The only entertainment was walking to the bathroom, because on the way I could see chickens and cows that were on the lower deck and just stretch my legs… Its true…The bathrooms were disgusting!!! The food was almost uneatable. The boat was too small…. And the saddest thing, there were no garbage containers on the boat… so all the garbage, boxes, paper, food, bottles and plastic all went overboard, right into the Amazon river… Very sad looking river it was sometimes :( . Well, but overall still an incredible experience… of traveling with the regular folks…and being the only foreigner.
Finally this Peruvian boat arrived to the Tres Fronteras, sister border cities (Peru, Brazil and Colombia). Thinking that I already missed the next boat that was going to Manaus, Brazil… I took my time … got my Peruvian exit stamp , sat down in the park to decompress and look at the LP, figure out the exchange rates, etc… When I was about to check in to the hostel, one incredible Colombian man advised me that I could still catch the boat… but in another port… (if not I had to wait at least 3 days until the next boat), He told me what to do, but I barely could understand his new to me at that point, Colombian Spanish and as well the names of the places where I had to go were in Portuguese… trouble… I was confused… very much…. So he stopped a taxi for me, which was a motorcycle, and told the driver what to do…. I left all my bargaining alone and let go of control of the situation and got really into this “catching the boat in another port” thing… Don’t know where I got the strength to get on the motorcycle with my huge backpack in the back, and little one in the front while still holding on to my 2 ½ liter water bottle…. We were driving from one spot to another for about half an hour, I was holding on with all my might not to lose balance and let my big backpack to tip me over… driving from the Colombian part to the Brazilian, getting my Brazilian stamp, exchanging money, going to one of the ports then to another one and finally we arrived to the little port where I could catch a motorized boat that would take me to the cargo port of Benjamin, where hopefully my big boat was still there uploading cargo… Meanwhile I was so hungry and dehydrated and completely exhausted from the heat, but something kept me alright… I had an adrenaline rush to catch that boat… Everything happened so fast… the boat was still in the port. I was lucky!!! The only thing though, I did not have enough reales (Brazilian money) to pay for it… and was about to faint from heat, hunger and dehydration. So, I had to drop my bag on the boat, beg them not to leave without me and ran to town to take care of all of those things…
This boat was so worth rushing for!!! Again, I was offered all kinds of help... Not so often they get delirious sweaty chica-tourist boarding in the cargo port 5 hours after the boat departure! :)
The captain took my bag upstairs, helped me to find a spot for my hammock… next to a backpacker couple. This time around, there were other foreigners on the boat. To me, this Brazilian boat was such a luxurious, kind of “Carnival cruise with hammocks” ... Not that I’ve ever been to the Carnival Cruise... (because that’s not cool! :)) I knew I was in a special place… even though I came last, I still had an awesome hammock space… the bathrooms were super clean, great showers, lots of walking, hanging out space.. the whole upper deck was a party space with a bar , table and chairs… This time I did not had to be horizontal in may hammock if I did not want to… :) The food was delicious, there were also coffee, tea and water available… The captain personally delivered coffee to my hammock… Very cute… The Brazilian people, the language… Brazilian music…. Wow!!! I was in LOVE !!! :) And also I got lucky with my hammock neighbors, a group of Colombian tattoo artists… who initially, looking a bit dangerous, with all kinds of tattoos on their bodies and piercings and huge holes in their ears, but they turned out to be the sweetest and gentlest and coolest group… We had such a great vibe going!!! Great peeps!!!
The Amazon river was fantastic… much cleaner than on the Peruvian side, because Brazilians have much more appreciation and education about environment preservation. The river was so wide that it felt to me that I was somewhere at sea… At night, we could see an electrical lightning show without the rain… and lots of stars and full moon!!! It was my dream to make this trip for some time and I am happy that it exceeded all my expectations… It was just unreal!!!!
A while back, I decided that I will try to start selling my jewelry as soon as I would leave Peru… So, I was quite determined to make as much bracelets as I could on the boat, to get me ready… It was really cute, people would surround me and try to talk to me in Portuguese and children were all over me while I was making bracelets… Then, all of a sudden some guys wanted to buy my things… I was very pleased of course… When I showed my work to the tough Colombians they were really complimentary and basically told me I was awesome!!! :)) And then Patricia, one of the crazy Colombian tattoo artists grabbed my 2 favorite things and wanted me to sell them… I took 2 days to think it over… I like all the work I’ve done and was not ready to sell my favorite pieces… She wanted all or nothing…. In the end I sold them to her and it felt really great… It felt great that such a cool and stylish chica lost her head for my jewelry!!! She paid 100 Brazilian Reales… for 2 things!!! (about $65) Wow, I could really make some money then while traveling!!!! To say the least I was really happy!
Manaus turned out to be a huge city, of 2 million people.. Very-very-very hot!!! It also had a glory day at some point during the rubber boom... There is an unbelievable Opera House there that saw many famous opera singers back in the day... There was also so many new fruits and foods that i was not able to try because I only had a few days there and it was just too hot to be eating anything other than incredible exotic flavored ice-cream, and exotic juices... That means I would have to make another journey to Brazil soon to get to eat all of the wonderful foods that it can offer :)
I had to get ready for the once in the life time opportunity trip down the longest river in the world that runs through the width of the whole South America – The Amazon River. My plan was to take a 3 day Peruvian boat from Iquitos to the border with Brazil, and then continue with the 4 day Brazilian boat from the border all the way to Manaus. On the boat, everybody sleeps in the hammocks, and there is no storage room for any luggage. I had been reading and talking to people who had shared some horror stories… uneatable food, poor hygienic conditions and mainly lots of petty crime, stealing of backpacks and even shoes under the hammocks at night. And of course I also heard that it was an unbelievable experience, all you have to do is be careful and watch your staff while you are going to the bathroom… Initially, I was hanging around Iquitos hoping to meet some other travelers to share the duties of watching out for each other… Unfortunately, people I was meeting were all traveling in other directions from me, so, finally I gave up and gathered some courage to do it on my own, bought the hammock and went to the port!!!
The Iquitos port was the most dangerous part of this trip. In order to avoid thieves I was told not to arrive after dark, but arrive well in advance to avoid problems and bag snatchers. I was feeling very anxious all day, and came quite early, 5 hours before the boat departure. On the boat I was met by various men who were laughing at me and pointing fingers, and were quite excited to have a “paranoid” foreigner on board. At the same time they were very accommodating and friendly and helped me put my hammock up. One man even offered to keep my backpack locked up in his cabin. Not trusting that the men was part of the crew I did not let go at that time of my backpack, thinking it was a scam and he would sell my backpack to his buddies… :) After a while I got more relaxed, realized that he was actually part of a crew and let go of my backpack to be locked up in his cabin. Since I was already on the boat, I could not leave… had to guard my hammock spot …
After many hours, finally some people started to board and it became more exciting. People were hanging their hammocks around me and the next thing I know the hammocks were so tight together that people were touching each other. The boat got really full, there were hammocks in the isles that lead to the bathroom too, so that to get to the bathroom you had to crouch and swing the hammocks away with people in them… The boat was very small, with no space to walk.. So I had spend all 3 days pretty much horizontal in my hammock, sleep, read, look around… The only entertainment was walking to the bathroom, because on the way I could see chickens and cows that were on the lower deck and just stretch my legs… Its true…The bathrooms were disgusting!!! The food was almost uneatable. The boat was too small…. And the saddest thing, there were no garbage containers on the boat… so all the garbage, boxes, paper, food, bottles and plastic all went overboard, right into the Amazon river… Very sad looking river it was sometimes :( . Well, but overall still an incredible experience… of traveling with the regular folks…and being the only foreigner.
Finally this Peruvian boat arrived to the Tres Fronteras, sister border cities (Peru, Brazil and Colombia). Thinking that I already missed the next boat that was going to Manaus, Brazil… I took my time … got my Peruvian exit stamp , sat down in the park to decompress and look at the LP, figure out the exchange rates, etc… When I was about to check in to the hostel, one incredible Colombian man advised me that I could still catch the boat… but in another port… (if not I had to wait at least 3 days until the next boat), He told me what to do, but I barely could understand his new to me at that point, Colombian Spanish and as well the names of the places where I had to go were in Portuguese… trouble… I was confused… very much…. So he stopped a taxi for me, which was a motorcycle, and told the driver what to do…. I left all my bargaining alone and let go of control of the situation and got really into this “catching the boat in another port” thing… Don’t know where I got the strength to get on the motorcycle with my huge backpack in the back, and little one in the front while still holding on to my 2 ½ liter water bottle…. We were driving from one spot to another for about half an hour, I was holding on with all my might not to lose balance and let my big backpack to tip me over… driving from the Colombian part to the Brazilian, getting my Brazilian stamp, exchanging money, going to one of the ports then to another one and finally we arrived to the little port where I could catch a motorized boat that would take me to the cargo port of Benjamin, where hopefully my big boat was still there uploading cargo… Meanwhile I was so hungry and dehydrated and completely exhausted from the heat, but something kept me alright… I had an adrenaline rush to catch that boat… Everything happened so fast… the boat was still in the port. I was lucky!!! The only thing though, I did not have enough reales (Brazilian money) to pay for it… and was about to faint from heat, hunger and dehydration. So, I had to drop my bag on the boat, beg them not to leave without me and ran to town to take care of all of those things…
This boat was so worth rushing for!!! Again, I was offered all kinds of help... Not so often they get delirious sweaty chica-tourist boarding in the cargo port 5 hours after the boat departure! :)
The captain took my bag upstairs, helped me to find a spot for my hammock… next to a backpacker couple. This time around, there were other foreigners on the boat. To me, this Brazilian boat was such a luxurious, kind of “Carnival cruise with hammocks” ... Not that I’ve ever been to the Carnival Cruise... (because that’s not cool! :)) I knew I was in a special place… even though I came last, I still had an awesome hammock space… the bathrooms were super clean, great showers, lots of walking, hanging out space.. the whole upper deck was a party space with a bar , table and chairs… This time I did not had to be horizontal in may hammock if I did not want to… :) The food was delicious, there were also coffee, tea and water available… The captain personally delivered coffee to my hammock… Very cute… The Brazilian people, the language… Brazilian music…. Wow!!! I was in LOVE !!! :) And also I got lucky with my hammock neighbors, a group of Colombian tattoo artists… who initially, looking a bit dangerous, with all kinds of tattoos on their bodies and piercings and huge holes in their ears, but they turned out to be the sweetest and gentlest and coolest group… We had such a great vibe going!!! Great peeps!!!
The Amazon river was fantastic… much cleaner than on the Peruvian side, because Brazilians have much more appreciation and education about environment preservation. The river was so wide that it felt to me that I was somewhere at sea… At night, we could see an electrical lightning show without the rain… and lots of stars and full moon!!! It was my dream to make this trip for some time and I am happy that it exceeded all my expectations… It was just unreal!!!!
A while back, I decided that I will try to start selling my jewelry as soon as I would leave Peru… So, I was quite determined to make as much bracelets as I could on the boat, to get me ready… It was really cute, people would surround me and try to talk to me in Portuguese and children were all over me while I was making bracelets… Then, all of a sudden some guys wanted to buy my things… I was very pleased of course… When I showed my work to the tough Colombians they were really complimentary and basically told me I was awesome!!! :)) And then Patricia, one of the crazy Colombian tattoo artists grabbed my 2 favorite things and wanted me to sell them… I took 2 days to think it over… I like all the work I’ve done and was not ready to sell my favorite pieces… She wanted all or nothing…. In the end I sold them to her and it felt really great… It felt great that such a cool and stylish chica lost her head for my jewelry!!! She paid 100 Brazilian Reales… for 2 things!!! (about $65) Wow, I could really make some money then while traveling!!!! To say the least I was really happy!
Manaus turned out to be a huge city, of 2 million people.. Very-very-very hot!!! It also had a glory day at some point during the rubber boom... There is an unbelievable Opera House there that saw many famous opera singers back in the day... There was also so many new fruits and foods that i was not able to try because I only had a few days there and it was just too hot to be eating anything other than incredible exotic flavored ice-cream, and exotic juices... That means I would have to make another journey to Brazil soon to get to eat all of the wonderful foods that it can offer :)
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