Exploring The Amazon

Fresh off the plane in Bogota we arrived back home from our trip to Peru only to get one nights sleep then we were off again for our next adventure.  This time we were staying a little closer to home, although just barely.  We were heading to Leticia, the Colombian capital of The Amazon.  The Amazon River is shared by three countries, Colombia, Brazil and Peru.

After arriving, we check into our hostel and went to have lunch at a restaurant popular with tourists called 'Tierras Amazonicas'.  Here they serve a wide variety of exotic dishes which are typical in this region, including pirana fish.  However, I wasn't feeling that adventurous and went for the scrimp coconut curry which was every bit delicious as it sounds.  Then once we'd finished our lunch, we were ready to start exploring Leticia.  We booked a trip for the following day along The Amazon River and I couldn't wait!

The following day we headed to Leticia's port early in the morning to meet with the rest of the tour group.  The port was bustling with people, from tourists to sellers.  The river was crammed full of boats and I was surprised to see actual homes on the waterfront too.  Rows and rows of shacks lined up on the banks as we made our way along on river.

We started our tour by heading up the river to Puerto Alegria which is part of Peru.  Here we were met by some of the locals and an array of animals including sloths, parrots & monkeys.  It was great getting to be up close these beauties and getting to hold them.  Although I wasn't so keen on the snake!  I wasn't brave enough to have it around my neck.

Then it was time to get back on the boat and head to our next stop, Isla de Los Micos (The Island of Monkeys), where we were back on Colombian soil.  I was really excited to see these monkeys and the trip didn't disappoint.  These little monkeys move very quickly and jump around from person to person a lot so it can be a little overwhelming at first.  By this part of the trip I was feeling very dishevelled and mucky but everyone was in the same boat (no pun intended) so it didn't matter.  If you're going to do this trip I'd recommend not wearing your best clothes or anything white because they will get ruined.

From there we headed a little further up the river to see if we could catch a glance of the pink dolphins.  Unfortunately, it was raining at that point so they weren't coming to the surface so we headed on to our next stop, El Vergel.  El Vergel is home to The Victoria Regia nature reserve where they have the largest lotus in the Amazon.  Bridges have been built, making it a short distance from the banks to the lagoon so you can see them in detail.  Here, we stopped to have lunch and take in the scenery.  It was so peaceful there and was a nice break before continuing our journey.

Next, we went to Macedonia, which is inhabited by indigenous tribes who make hand made crafts for the tourist who pass through on a daily basis.  There work is very unique, made from palo sangre, a reddish wood, as well as necklaces, bracelets and other accessories made from natural fibres.   

En route to our finally stop, Puerto Nariño, we went further up river and caught a glimpse of the pink dolphins which was a lovely experience.  Arriving at Puerto Nariño I was taken in by the cheerful colours of their houses.  It's a small town is the second largest town in The Amazon after Leticia.  However, it only has about 6,000 residence so it's still quite a small community.  What's unique about Puerto Nariño is that there are only pedestrians.  No cars or motorcycles are aloud so it's quite an ecological community.  This was our final stop before setting off back down the river to Leticia again.

Amazon river tours are the main attraction in Leticia but there are other spots to visit while you're there.  One place that's we visited and is a must for anyone planning a visit there is Parque Santander.  This is the main park in the town and has a lot of personality.  It's know for the thousands of parrots arriving between 5 and 5:30pm, heading for the trees for the night.  This lasts for a while and is quite noisy but well worth coming to watch.  They also have some beautiful carved trees around the park too.

 

We also visited Museo Etnographico (The Ethnographic Museum) and is a good place see if you're in the mood for something cultural.  Here you can learn about the culture of the jungle and its inhabitants.  It's collection includes important representative artefacts of the indigenous Ticuna, Huitoto and Yacuna tribes such as vessels, oars, bows and arrows and things used for rituals, ceremonies.

 

On our final day before going home we went to Parque Ecologico Mundo Amazonico (Ecological World Amazon Park), which is located 15 minutes from Leticia but easy to get there by bus.  It has collections of nature, fruit plans and exotic fish from The Amazon.  We went on a tour of the park and it was interesting to learn more about the nature in this region.

This was such a great trip and very doable in 4 days.  I hope you enjoyed reading about my trip to The Amazon.  Please leave a comments below if you liked it.

You can also watch my travel vlog on my YouTube channel here: