Astonishing Amazonas

There are many places to visit in Colombia, from Caribbean beaches to musical Cali (salsa capital), impressive mountain cities (I live high up in the Andes) and the amazing jungle cut through by the top of the Amazon river.

The Amazon River crossed many countries, though is mostly in Brazil

I decided to visit the Amazonas Department of Colombia.  We flew to Leticia (the capital) in the south of Colombia.  It was impressive to see how much of the country was covered in jungle once we left Bogotá.

jungle from the plane

On our first night we went to Santander Park to see the sunset from the church and see the crazy birds (bedding down for the night).

sunset overlooking the market

Leticia is on the border of Brasil and Peru in a custom's free zone.  Naturally we took the opportunity to visit those countries (not sure I can really add them to my list of countries visited though https://matadornetwork.com/travel-map/9ef9531aab2be2c745b9aa1d574e90f1-1430600103?fbclid=IwAR3vCqnPF28bf5ynVJhWDBDwjcvFohBBltAMP03Yj4yH9A8HB-OkNec533I).

with Parisa in Brazil

In Brazil we enjoyed a beer at a viewpoint overlooking Peru (across the river) and Colombia (over the bridge on the right).

Peru (across the river) and Colombia (over the bridge on the right)

Afterwards we took a boat from Leticia port to Santa Rosa island in Peru, where we had lunch.

One day we drove into the jungle and visited 'El Mundo Amazonico' where we learnt about some of the animals and flora & fauna.  

our regular tuk tuk to get around, with a very helpful driver!

Elephant leaf (I once used one of these to shelter from the rain in Palenque, Mexico)

mini pineapples

We also learnt about some of the indigenous tribes that live there...

baskets weaved by indigenous tribes

this is how people communicate with their tribes

cooking items used by indigenous tribes

... and the medicinal properties of the plants and trees that grow in the jungle.

There's a town called Puerto Nariño (https://www.lonelyplanet.com/colombia/puerto-narino) about 75km upriver of Leticia.  This town is totally ecological and mainly inhabited by people from indigenous tribes from the area.  To get there we took a 2 hour 'fast boat' from Leticia.

The boat made several stops along the way and we passed floating petrol stations and shops too.

the season is 'low water' so people had to climb the banks to reach the river

floating shop/petrol station

girls patiently waiting - even the bird is waiting!

We passed local fishermen...

...and even the navy.

Navy checking passengers as the river has no borders

Finally we arrived in Puerto Nariño.

A pedestrian town...

 ...with no vehicles allowed (apart from a tractor and an ambulance).

After lunch we went piranha fishing in Lake Tarapoto...

pretty toothy - do not want to swim with them!

...and saw pink dolphins on the way!

there were so many of them!

The trip was a lot of fun and very interesting though after the heat, humidity and mosquitos, I was ready to return to Bogotá!