Colombia Forum

yolatengo
Joined 2019
Posts: 545

4 years ago

Amazonas trip, part 3

4 years ago

Tuesday, August 27

[I’ve been spelling the translator’s name wrong, apologies – it’s Mirko, not Mikor.]

The final stop before returning to Leticia was Puerto Nariño. It was about a 2-hour boat ride down river from 7 de Agosto. It’s roughly half-way in between Letica and 7 de Agosto. It was a bittersweet time. It was a beautiful day on the Amazon with pauses on the trip to watch dolphin and exotic birds. It was also the last time the 4 of us (Joaquin, Javier, Mirko and me) would be together.

Mirko and I spent the afternoon and night here. Strange town. Most everything is new (the town was founded in 1961) and there are lots of activities. It has about 7,000 inhabitants, mostly indigenous Ticunas. It is the only other municipality in the region, Leticia being the other. It is entirely pedestrian with no cars or motorcycles allowed. It can be a good base to get to know the jungle. We arrived to a colorful dock and my first impression was that it was touristic. While this is true, there are opportunities to hike the jungle. AND, it has many amenities not found in the jungle, like flush toilets! There was only one place to get Internet in the village – at the administrative office. Outside the office got packed with school kiddies looking to get their Internet fix once the 5 o’clock bell rang marking the end of the school day.

I wish I had more time to spend there and it may be worth a return trip in the future. We only had time to trek the Wochine Reserve, a huge farm where there are ponds with various animals such as caiman and the giant pirarucú fish which is in danger of extinction. Sunset was the most beautiful seen in my 6-day trip.

We caught the 10:30am rapid boat back to Letica, a 2-hour trip. I stayed at the same hotel that I stayed in when I arrived, the best hotel in town at about $40. I thought the place was a dump when I first stayed there. However, this stay I thought I was in a 5-star hotel. Air conditioning!! I did not want to leave the hotel! But forge on. Mirko and I had a delicious buffet lunch in Brazil, a 15-minute tuk-tuk ride away. Later on, we watched the parrots again come from the jungle to spend the night.

The next morning, we had just enough time to visit the museum. I found it incredibly interesting and got a free private tour. I managed to finally find a long-sought after book about the region at the museum. And then, back to Medellin via Bogota.

Some final thoughts. This was the most fascinating trip I’ve ever taken. It combined a cultural experience with adventure. When I was investigating the trip, I came very close to not going. I thought the trip and accommodations would be too far out of my comfort zone. It is unlikely I will ever make such a trip again, but I’m glad I overcame my apprehensions and have no regrets. Except for the goofy hat I brought. :)

I feel compelled to add the following, though some may scoff at my naivete and shrug off my rant by saying I'm a stupid newbie. Hopefully not. I fell in love with the Amazon and the indigenous culture in my short trip, I hope to play whatever small role I can in helping preserve one of the last vast wildnerness on earth.

This is Colombia

It is a widely used expression, mostly by or aimed at foreigners. It is used as a simple way to explain away the perceived negatives a foreigner experiences. For example:

Many toilets lack toilet seats:
This is Colombia

Service stinks:
This is Colombia

Drivers are loco:
This is Colombia

My landlord won’t fix anything:
This is Colombia

You get the idea. For the most part, the saying has merit. Don’t expect things to be the same where you came from. It's not easy for the newbie, i.e., me. Accept what you cannot change. However, that doesn’t mean you have to accept everything just because, this is Colombia.

Seeing the devastation to the Amazon opened my eyes. In my trip, we passed swarths of land whose trees were illegally cut down in order to make room for more profitable industry. Boats tow the wood on the river right in front of governmental officials who turn the other way. There’s been a fire raging in Bolivia and Brazil for weeks. It was set by greedy profiteers looking to make the land profitable. Burn down the forest in order to build a hotel, or something like that. The world is starting to mobilize and not stand by idly. Still, most in the region are still blind, especially the politicians. It’s really no different than ignoring the crisis caused by disrupting the environment.

One of the best things about my trip was having my hosts open my eyes and motivate me to do what I can. One person can't do very much and I'm not sure what that is. Hopefully, I’ll figure it out.

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